


The Phantom Fools

by KingJustin1019



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Multi, Original Character(s), Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:26:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29275416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingJustin1019/pseuds/KingJustin1019
Summary: Nikki Morikawa had just arrived at Shujin Academy, only to be caught up in the Metaverse on accident. Now, after making a contract with Philemon, he sets out with his friends and allies who have formed a group within the Phantom Thieves known as the Phantom Fools.Spoilers for those getting Scramble and those who played Royal or Vanilla.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Takamaki Ann, Kitagawa Yusuke/Sakura Futaba, Niijima Makoto & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Niijima Sae/Original Male Character(s), Okumura Haru/Sakamoto Ryuji, Phantom Thieves of Hearts/Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Suzui Shiho/Original Male Character(s), Suzui Shiho/Takamaki Ann, Togo Hifumi/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. Meet the Team

**Author's Note:**

> I do not anything except for my OC. That is it. I don't own any thing but my OC. Anything coming from anyone, living or dead, is all coincidental. I do not own all of this.

Name: Nikki Morikawa  
Codename: Fool

Age: 17

Appearance: About as tall as Ren, has messy brown hair and black eyes. Wears his Shujin Academy uniform with his blazer open. Usually wears a striped white-blue turtleneck under a white hoodie with long rabbit-like ears. Wears black pants. As a Phantom Thief, he wears a hat with a red feather attached to it; a feather shaped mask; a small cape on his back; a puffy shirt; some blue pants pants and shoes. He also wears gloves.

Persona: Peter Pan  
Fool Arcana  
Stats: Primarily focuses on agility and attack  
Affinity: Is weak to Electricity, resistant against Wind, evades Shot.  
Skills:  
Garu  
Lucky Punch  
Sukukaja  
Dream Needles

Weapons: A dagger and a pistol.

Sophia

Codename: Sophie  
Phantom Thief outfit:

Persona: Pithos  
Hope Arcana  
Affinity: Weak to Curse, Resistant to Bless  
Stats: Focuses on magic and agility.

Skills:  
Dia  
Kouha  
Rakunda

Weapons: Yo-yos and a laser gun.

Shiho Suzui

Codename: Valkyrie

Costume:

Persona: Boudica  
Strength Arcana  
Affinity: Weak to Fire, Resistant to Ice.  
Stats: Prioritizes attack and defense.

Skills:  
Bufu  
Cleave  
Tarukaja  
Rakukaja

Weapon: Spear and crossbow

Yuuki Mishima

Codename: Magician  
Phantom Thief outfit: A magician's outfit with some technology bits on parts of the suit. Wears a top hat. Wears a mask with an LED screen on it.

Persona: Houdini  
Moon Arcana  
Affinity: Weak to Ice, Resistant to Fire  
Stats: Prioritizes on magic and attack

Skills:  
Agi  
Tarukunda  
Me Patra  
Dia

Weapons: Cane sword and a SMG

Hifumi Togo

Codename: Ghost  
Phantom Thief outfit:

Persona: Naotora Ii  
Star Arcana  
Affinity: Weak to Bless, Resistant to Curse  
Stats: Prioritizes on attack, agility, and magic

Skills:  
Eiha  
Cleave  
Sukukunda  
Mudo

Weapons: Naginata and Sniper Rifle

Zenkichi Hasegawa

Codename: Wolf  
Phantom Thief outfit:

Persona: Valjean

Priest Arcana  
Affinity: Allmighty  
Stats: Prioritizes on attack, endurance, and agility.

Skills:  
Triple Down  
Megido  
Tarukaja  
Rakukaja  
Sukukaja

Sae Niijima

Codename: Arbiter  
Phantom Thief outfit:

Persona: Joan of Arc (Not to be confused with the priest Johanna and yes, it looks like Johanna, except it's not shaped like a sports bike)  
Affinity: Weak to Wind and Psy, Resistant to Electricity and Nuclear.  
Stats: Well-Balanced

Skills:  
Frei  
Zio  
Dia  
Me Patra  
Hama

Akane Hasegawa

Codename: Wonder  
Phantom Thief outfit:

Persona: Cosette  
Hermit Arcana  
Affinity: Weak to Nuclear, Resistant to Psy  
Stats: Focused on magic and defense

Skills:  
Dia  
Tarukaja  
Rakukaja  
Psy  
Lullaby


	2. The Rise of the Fool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikki wakes up in the hospital to meet Shiho Suzui and Yuuki Mishima. After his uncle takes him back home, he goes to school with Shiho and Mishima, only to end up in a world with a strange castle and meet a strange girl called Sophia.

A man stood in a tower. He had a mask with a butterfly shaped mark in it. The room in the tower had stained glass on the floor that had the pattern of a butterfly. There was nothing but a void with blue trails and countless lights moving like they are in an ocean current.

"Hello, I am Philemon." The man said. "I know you are confused by all of this. I bet you must be wondering about a lot of things like: 'Where am I? Who are you really? What is this place? How did I even get here? Why am I even here at all?'"

The confused soul didn't have anything to say. It did not know what to ask. It did not know who or what it is.

"But let me ask you this: do you remember who you are?"

"N-Nikki... Morikawa..." the soul said.

"Ah! So you do remember!" Philemon said. "Not many who enter this realm can remember who they are."

"How... did I... get... here?"

"How did you get here you ask?" Philemon asked. "I saw you do a brave deed that would have killed you had I not brought you here. Your memory of the event must be cloudy, but I'm sure the fog in your mind will become clear."

"..."

"Ah, Why gaze at me with suspicion? Is it my mask? Does it trouble you, or is it the fact that I hide my identity from you?" Philemon asked. "Even so, all humans hide their faces, their 'other selves' by wearing a mask we call a persona."

"Per... so... na?"

"It is the reflection of one's heart and a facade that is the armor of our hearts, the 'masks' we all wear." Philemon said. "Humans wear them to face the hardships in life. They wear masks to hide their shadows, their true selves, from all, even from themselves. When one meets their shadow and accepts them, they will gain the mask, the facade to deal with life's hardships in the future. God or demon, mortal or immortal, we all have multiple selves within our souls."

He pointed to the soul.

"You have already awakened that power within you, and now, after its long slumber, it shall rise again." Philemon said. "Now, wake up! Wake up and go back to the world from whence you came!"

Everything turned black.

* * *

"Hey... hey..."

_'Who... is that?'_

His eyes began to open. There was a light. He kept opening them, getting used to the lighting. He opened his eye completely, but all was blurry. He saw two people next to him. He couldn't make out their faces.

"He's awake!" He heard a girl said.

"Give him some space..." He heard a boy said.

His vision began to clear up. He started to see a pair of faces, none of which he was familiar with. One boy and one girl. He was breathing rather slowly. He felt weak all over.

"Where... am... I?" He said.

"You're in the hospital." The boy said. "The doctors said you were out for quite a while."

"They said you needed to rest, but we just had to come and see you." The girl said.

He began to sit up straight. Everything felt fuzzy to him. He gripped his head in pain. His memories were a mess. He felt pain in his shoulder, his head, and his torso.

"What... happened... to me?" He said in between breaths, having not fully recovered all of his strength.

"You took... let's just say you had a nasty fall." The boy said.

"Yeah... that..." the girl said. "Do you... remember anything?"

"I... I... I remember my name... Nikki Morikawa... but... nothing else beyond that..." He said. "Ack... a mirror... I need..."

"H-Here you go."

A hand mirror was handed to him. He looked at the mirror to see that he had messy brown hair and black eyes.

 _'Yes... this is what I've always looked like...'_ Nikki thought.

He looked to the other two.

"Who... are you?" Nikki asked.

"Oh... we forgot to introduce ourselves." The boy said. "I'm Yuuki Mishima."

"And I'm Shiho Suzui." The girl said. "We both go to the same school together. Shujin Academy."

"Shiho... Mishima... Shujin..." Nikki said. "Yes... I... Remember... you two were on the volleyball team and I... I was just recently transferred here..."

"Phew... at least you remembered us." Mishima said. "I was about to ask if you remembered us."

"So then why am I here... what happened?" Nikki asked. "How did I come to be here?"

The two looked down. The boy bit his lip.

"Does the name Kamoshida ring a bell?"

Just then, images and voices began to fill his head. One image was that of a man with a square jaw looking at him angrily, gritting his teeth as he had a bruise over his jaw.

_"You little shit! I'll have you expelled and sued!"_

The next was a girl was forced onto a table with tears in her eyes. Then the next image was...

That same girl standing over the edge, looking back at him.

_"You don't have to do this!"_

_"No... why? Why did you come here?"_

_"Because I just want to help you!"_

_"Stop... just stop... why do you want to help some girl you never even knew?!"_

_"Because no one else would!"_

Then the next image was him, falling as the girl was being pulled away from the edge.

_"I'm sorry..."_

_"NO! DON'T!"_

_"SHIHO!"_

_"NO! LET ME GO!"_

_"I'm sorry... mom, dad... I tried, but this is where it ends..."_

Then...

**_CRUNCH!_ **

The next image was that girl who stood there as the paramedics were taking him to the hospital. She was... crying... sobbing...

He came back to reality.

"I... I remember!" Nikki said. "That terrible man! He—! He tried to rape someone and then—!"

"And that someone was me..." Shiho said.

He looked to Shiho, who was beginning to choke on her sobs.

"So that girl... it was you?" Nikki asked. "But... why? Why would you try to kill yourself? You didn't have to—"

"Because I couldn't take it anymore!" Shiho yelled. "I just... I just couldn't take it anymore... all the abuse... the sexual harassment... all of it... I just... I just wanted it to end... I forgot about you... Ann... god... why did things have to be like this?"

She covered her face.

"I bet you hate me for causing all of this..." Shiho said. "All of the pain I caused you..."

"That's a lie." Nikki said. "I would never hate you."

The girl looked at him, shocked by his words.

"You... wouldn't?" Shiho asked.

He nodded.

"You..." Shiho said. "I... I'm sorry... I thought you'd..."

"Anything else you remember or do we have explain a few things?" Mishima asked.

"N-No... I'm starting to remember everything..."

Yes. He was remembering everything about himself. His name was Nikki Morikawa. He lived with his parents in Tokyo until a fatal accident occurred in which his parents suddenly collapsed in front of him. His uncle took him in and he lived with his uncle in Kyoto along with his cousin for two years until he and his uncle moved into Tokyo. He was transferred into Shujin Academy and heard rumors of a transfer student with a criminal record. He met Shiho for the first time on his first day of school.

Lately, he had strange dreams involving a world where the night sky was green and filled with coffins and a world shrouded in fog, talking to someone who looked just like him for the past four days... or... was it three?

"Wait... what time is it? What's the date?" Nikki asked.

"Uh... it's 15th of April and it's... oh crap! It's getting late!" Mishima said. "We got to go Suzui-san! My parents will kill me if I'm not back by nightfall!"

"I-I'll catch up..." Shiho said.

"Ok, just remember to leave! I'll be downstairs by the lobby!"

Mishima sprinted out of the room. Shiho hugged Nikki.

"Thank you..." Shiho said. "For saving me... I... I wish I could make it up to you someday..."

"Big Brother Nikki!"

A small girl jumped onto Nikki. He felt pain in his abdomen. He looked down to see the girl sported dark brown hair and matching dark brown eyes with a red hair clip on the left side of her hair. A name clicked back into his head.

"A-Akane!" Nikki said.

"Eh?" Shiho asked. "Is... she your—?"

"N-No! We're not brother and sister!" Nikki said as he was red in the face. "Shes my... my... my... um... c-cousin... that I've lived with for two years..."

"R-Really?!" Shiho asked. "I didn't know you have relatives!"

"Well now you do... ouch!" Nikki said.

"I-I'll just leave now..." Shiho said.

She broke the hug and walked out of the room.

"Oh big brother, I was so scared when you were at the hospital and I thought you were going to die and—!"

"Akane... I'm... I'm fine now... you don't have to worry. I was out for only a few hours..." Nikki said.

"Hey kid."

He looked up to find his uncle, Zenkichi Hasegawa standing by the doorway. His uncle had a goatee. He had a pair of glasses on him. He had black hair that reached to his shoulders. His dark grey orbs stared at Nikki's black eyes.

"Let's go home. I got something for dinner for us to eat to celebrate you getting out of the hospital." Zenkichi said.

"Sure uncle..." Nikki said.

He was checked out of the hospital by his uncle and he and his cousin went home with Zenkichi. They had dinner and then they all decided to go to bed.

* * *

**_The very next day..._ **

**_April 16_ **

**_Early Morning_ **

**_Shujin Academy_ **

Nikki was going to school. He saw that Mishima and Shiho were walking beside him.

"Hey, if you don't mind, how about we get to know each other more, ok?" Shiho asked.

"Suzui..."

"Shiho." Shiho said. "Just call me Shiho from now on."

"Wha—! You can't just pull him into a first name basis like that!" Mishima said.

"Why can't I?" Shiho asked. "After helping me when no one else did, I can't help it. I feel safe when I'm with him apparently."

"S-Suzui..." Nikki said, looking red.

"Well... if you feel that way..." Mishima said. "I just wish Kamoshida would stop thinking the school was his castle..."

Nikki felt his phone ringing in his pockets.

He pulled it out to see a red eye logo with three words on it.

"Kamoshida... Shujin Academy... Castle?" Nikki muttered.

"Wuzzat?"

_Beginning navigation..._

"Beginning navigation? But to where?"

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

They turned to see Shiho flat on her butt.

"Suzui-San?! What is it?!"

"The... the sky... it changed color..."

"The sky changed its color?" Mishima said. "They didn't say that on the weather channel."

He looked up.

"You're probably imagining things and—HOLY JESUS!" Mishima said. "WHAT IS THAT?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"

"Huh?" Nikki asked. "They sky isn't blue anymore, and Mishima, what are you—!"

They saw a castle that stood where the school was supposed to be. Nikki looked to his phone.

"Did my phone... triggered this?" Nikki asked.

"Well if it did, make it change it all back!" Mishima said. "I did not ask for an isekai **_now_** of all times!"

"But... I don't how it triggered it." Nikki said.

"Then figure it out!" Mishima said.

"I think I can be of assistance."

They all turned around to find a girl with red hair split into pigtails of seven hearts each. The hearts got smaller at the ends. She had M-shaped bangs and blue eyes with large black rings. She was wearing a white one-piece outfit with large sleeves opening up at the ends and a dress section ending just at her hips. The chest section had strange hoop-like extrusion with strange black markings on it, and similar extrusions are seen on the end of the dress, as well as the top and ends of the sleeves. She wore black boyshorts and black boots with silver soles and a large ring-like extrusion on the tips. Most of her neck section is surrounded by a large ring with a tip on the back side.

"Dude... am I losing my sanity here or did that girl just appear behind us?" Mishima asked.

"N-No... I can see her too..." Nikki said.

"Me three..." Shiho said.

"Ah, master Nikki, I was wondering when you would wake me up from my sleep."

"MASTER?!" Mishima asked.

"MASTER?!" Shiho asked.

"Eh? Eh?! EH?!" Nikki asked.

"Oh... I suppose you had no idea." Sophia said. "I am an artificial intelligence designated as humanity's best friend."

"I dunno if I can trust that..." Mishima said with a skeptical look on his face. "Where did you even come from?"

"From within Master Nikki's phone." Sophia said.

Shiho and Mishima looked at Nikki.

"Dude, what did you download before coming to school?" Mishima asked. "Wait Wait Wait Wait, more importantly, when did you get the crazy looking app that brought us here?"

"I... I don't know! I didn't realize there was some strange app in my phone!" Nikki said. "I don't even have any reception or WiFi for that matter!"

"No reception **OR** WiFi?! Dude, what the hell!" Mishima said. "Do we even know _where_ we are?!"

"The Metaverse. A world that manifests as the collective unconscious." Sophia said.

"But what about the castle?! What does that have to do with this Metaverse?!" Mishima asked.

"I would say the castle you are looking at is what is called a Palace, a manifestation of one's distorted desires." Sophia said. "It takes the form of whatever the host thinks of a certain location as."

The three students looked at the castle.

"Then... this castle is... this is how Kamoshida sees the school... now I get why he thinks he's the King of Shujin Academy..." Mishima said. "He thinks the school is his castle and that he's the king of said castle... all because he had the influence to do whatever he wanted..."

"Like social cognitive psychology..." Nikki said.

"Yeah... that makes sense." Mishima said. "And... now that I think about it... how is this place connected to him other than his views about the school?"

"Because the Palace is, in a sense, analogous to what you humans would call an infection." Sophia said. "This Kamoshida's mind has been infected by his distorted desires, entrenching it in distorted beliefs and therefore—"

"Is the reason he's been acting the way he has been!" Mishima said. "So... if this castle is destroyed, what will happen to him?"

"As of yet, I do not know. I know only the basic concepts of Palaces." Sophia said. "But I would theorize that this Kamoshida would no longer harbor these beliefs should this Palace be destroyed."

"So... he thinks of this school as some castle... and he thinks everyone else is beneath him..."

They turned to see Shiho looking actually angry.

"S-Suzui-san..." Mishima said.

"That... that bastard... how dare he think of himself that way after everything he did that made me want to die..." Shiho said. "It's because of him and that I... I..."

Shiho stormed off toward the castle.

"Wait! Suzui-san!" Mishima said.

"We must stop her before she encounters the Shadows." Sophia said. "Hurry!"

"Shadows?! What are you—? Hey!"

Sophia ran off. The boys went after her.

"Shadows..." Nikki said. "Another psychology term?"

"Dude, we don't have time for that, we have to think about psychology!" Mishima said.

_"They wear masks to hide their shadows, their true selves, from all, even from themselves."_

_'Shadows... their true selves... when did I—?'_

"Let me go!"

They caught up Sophia to find her holding Shiho back.

"Some assistance would be helpful in this situation!" Sophia said.

"Let me go! I have to get in there! I have to make him pay for what he did!" Shiho said. "Him and this castle is the reason I almost got Nikki killed! This thing is the reason he got hurt! I... I..."

"Stop it, Suzui-san!" Mishima said as he went in to hold her down. "We can't run in blindly!"

"I said let go of me!" Shiho said.

She threw Mishima off her and threw Sophia back as well. Nikki chased after her as she ran in. Mishima followed after them and so to did Sophia.

Shiho kicked the door down. Nikki caught up to her and held her back.

"Stop this now, Shiho! You can't just rush in here without thinking!" Nikki said.

"Let me go!"

Mishima grabbed onto her.

"Come on, let's just get out of here!" Mishima said.

"Not yet! Not until I—!"

"We must leave immediately! I detect numerous Shadows approaching our position!" Sophia said. "It would seem opening the front door alarmed them all!"

"Again, what the hell are Shadows?!" Mishima asked.

"Geez Mishima, didn't anyone teach you about psychology?" A distorted, yet awfully familiar sounding voice came through.

They all looked to see... Kamoshida? He was wearing a crown on his head, a cape and a pair of shoes. What's weird about him were his eyes. What was with his eyes? Why are they gold and not his normal eye color.

"Shadow... true self..." Nikki said. "Are... Are you Kamoshida's true self? His Shadow?"

"Ah see? He gets it." Kamoshida said. "I am the _cooler_ Kamoshida. The one who really is the king of this here castle of mine. And this is a world of my desires come to life."

"Like Jungian psychology... Kamoshida must not know about this other part of himself." Mishima said.

Knights with stoic masks came in. Nikki had an image flash into his head upon seeing the mask. A black blob monster thing wearing a blue mask jumped at him.

No... it... it _wasn't_ a monster...

It was a Shadow... just like this one.

He then saw another image of a version of Nikki standing in front of him in some fog, but its eyes were just like Kamoshida's.

No... it wasn't some other version of him...

It too was a Shadow.

No...

It was **HIS** Shadow.

"You three have some nerve knocking on my front door like you own the place." Shadow Kamoshida said. "And after everything I did to just keep you two on the team no less. What? Was my coaching not good enough that you had to bring a complaint?"

Mishima released Shiho and so did Nikki.

"What you did wasn't coaching... you were just beating us up all so you can make yourself seem above everyone else!" Mishima said. "And even tried to rape Suzui-san!"

"Oh I'm sorry, how would **you** feel if a girl decided to not sleep with you after having a lot of pent-up stress?" Shadow Kamoshida asked. "If Takamaki-san hadn't decided to talk back to me and refuse my offer, I would have let Suzui-san off."

"Wait... Takamaki?" Mishima asked. "No... you were forcing her into a relationship with you..."

"She came onto me with that magazine cover! How was I supposed to not get glued to that ass of hers?" Shadow Kamoshida asked.

"Ann? You... You were forcing Ann into a relationship with you?" Shiho asked. "You... you said you wouldn't do that if—!"

"Well news flash Princess, I lied." Shadow Kamoshida said with a lecherous smile. "Like I was ever going to choose one over the other that easily. You two have nice looking bodies after all..."

"So that's it... you go after two girls without letting one or the other know about it." Nikki said.

"And I thought I..."

"And I would had my way with you if you that damned brat didn't interfere!" Shadow Kamoshida, looking angered and pointing fingers at Nikki. "What are you, her boyfriend or something?!"

"No. I just like helping people when no one is willing to help them." Nikki said.

"So you just like playing hero, Huh? Well you better hope that's worth getting expelled from school and me suing your ass for assault!" Shadow Kamoshida said. "No one asked for you to get involved in other people's problems, so how about you stay out of my affairs while you're about to get expelled!"

Mishima turned to Nikki in amazement.

"Morikawa-san... you... you saved Suzui-san?" Mishima asked.

"I overheard you when I was on clean up duty." Nikki said. "I followed Suzui to the PE faculty office and when I saw him forcefully grabbed her into the office, I barged in and... I pushed Kamoshida off her."

"Morikawa..."

"And thanks to that stunt of yours, one of my leg became broken and I had to be taken to the hospital!" Shadow Kamoshida said. "And I took that personally by the way!"

"Sucks to be you." Mishima said as he looked at the Shadow.

Shadow Kamoshida growled in anger.

"Guards! Kill them and bring her to me!" Shadow Kamoshida ordered.

Sophia jumped in front of them.

"I won't let you." Sophia said.

"Huh?"

"You three must escape now." Sophia said. "I shall hold them back for as long as possible."

"What?! And leave you with him?!" Mishima said.

"Go!" Sophia said.

Shadow Kamoshida snapped his fingers. The door immediately closed.

"You aren't going anywhere! I'll have you executed!" Shadow Kamoshida said.

"You will not harm them!" Sophia said. "Combat mode, start up!"

Sophia's hair became a 14 heart ponytail as her head was enclosed in her head. A black mask formed over her face in which a pair of cyan colored rings emerged. Her pants became stockings. A pair of yo-yos appeared. A dark blue aura accompanied by chains surrounded her.

"Persona program, initializing... come Pithos!"

The mask broke as four elongated rectangular objects appeared behind her as a flaming pillar shot up. The aura went aflame.

"HOLY SHIT!" Mishima said.

"What is..."

"Persona..." Nikki said. "Another Jungian psychology term?"

The knights broke apart started to turn into monsters.

"Holy shit! They turned into monsters!" Mishima said.

"What is happening?" Shiho asked.

"Look! We gotta go!" Mishima said.

"N-No! We can't!" Shiho said.

"Shiho, look, I know you want to deck him in the balls, but right now, we have to get out of here while our heads are still attached!"

"Eliminating targets!" Sophia said.

She rushed at the first monster and attacked it, swinging her yo-yos at it. One of the objects fired a beam of light at it. The creature was killed on the spot.

"That and she can take care of herself!" Mishima said.

He grabbed Shiho's hand.

"Morikawa, this way!" Mishima said. "I think I know a way out! Just follow me!"

"Right!" Nikki said.

Two Pithos blocks shot a beam that forced the monsters to move.

"Now! Go!"

The trio rushed off towards the direction of the gap and began to slip past it.

"Stop them!" Shadow Kamoshida ordered.

Sophia jumped over the monsters and had all the Pithos blocks converge on her. They all began to lay down a barrage of beams of light. She landed and began to swing her yo-yos at them. A monster got crushed while another one got slashed. She grabbed a group of them and swung them around before tossing them to the other side of the room.

The three ran into some small space. They saw two doors.

"No... we'll never get out through the doors..." Mishima said.

Shiho turned around and saw one of the knights behind Nikki.

"Nikki!" Shiho shouted.

Nikki turned around and backed away as the night swung at him. He fell down. A laser bolt blasted its arm off. Nikki grabbed the sword it dropped and stabbed the knight with it. The knight broke down and turned into a dirty two horned beast. The beast rammed into Nikki, hitting him with the force of a car engine. He was tossed back and coughed out blood as he landed on the floor.

"Nikki!" Shiho said.

"Morikawa!" Mishima said.

Sophia stepped on the beast, killing it immediately. She looked at him with worry.

"Master! Are you injured?!" Sophia asked.

"No shit he got injured! He got hit with the force of a fucking car engine!" Mishima said before he looked at Nikki. "You're not bleeding internally, right?!"

"I think my ribs are broken..." Nikki said. "And given my cracked ribs..."

The Pithos blocks went back to Sophia and still laid down sir pressing fire while she placed her hands on his abdomen. A green light appeared over hands that began to spread to his abdomen.

"Dia..."

Nikki felt his ribs snap back into place. He grunted as they went back into place.

"Nikki!" Shiho said.

"It is alright. I am healing him."

"Well it still looks painful by the way!" Mishima said.

Nikki felt his body healing faster. He got back up slowly, gripping his abdomen.

"How do you feel?! Are you alright?!" Mishima asked.

"My abdomen is in pain, but I'm ok now... sorta..." Nikki said.

More knights appeared and the monsters were advancing. The group backed into a room.

"We're trapped!" Shiho said.

"Not yet we aren't!"

Mishima turned to see a grate that was torn off.

"Aha! Now what kind of castle can't go without any ventilation?" Mishima mocked. "Guess we don't need a door if we can just slip out through here!"

Sophia was knocked back and the Pithos disappeared. A knight was approaching her and was about to thrust a spear into Sophia.

_'No!'_

He rushed into shield her before—

**STAB!**

He could have sworn he heard Shiho scream out in terror while Mishima called out to him. He felt the spear go right into his chest and right into his own heart.

Blood was pooling all over the weapon. One last laser beam shot the top part of the lance off, keeping the tip embedded into his body. He fell backwards just as he felt someone catch him. He tried to breathe, but he wasn't breathing right. It was rapid, rugged. He felt pain in his chest. His ears began to ring.

 _'Am... am I going to die?'_ Nikki thought. _'Suzui... Mishima... uncle... Akane... I'm... I'm sorry...'_

As he was begging to lose all strength in him, he saw a shadowy figure in front of him.

 _'Who... who is that?'_ Nikki thought.

**_"Don't you remember me? We met in the fog..."_ **

_'In... the fog...'_

**_"Yes. I am you. And you are me."_ **

* * *

"NIKKI! NIKKI! WAKE UP! PLEASE WAKE UP!" Shiho screamed with tears welling up in her eyes. "No... No... no no no no no... no... no..."

"Damnit... Morikawa... no..." Mishima said.

"Good riddance."

Shadow Kamoshida walked in with a stoic look on his face.

"He was gonna be gone from here one way or the other." Shadow Kamoshida said. "Dumb brat. He should have never stood against me."

"You... you bastard!" Shiho yelled out in anger. "Do you even care about anyone other than yourself?! He's dying and you're just treating him as if he deserved it!"

"And he got what he deserved. He had it coming to him." Shadow Kamoshida said. "Besides, no one will ever know if he really was murdered here, and who would believe any of you?"

"You son of a bitch! Now I know why Sakamoto hates you so much!" Mishima said. "You don't care about anyone! You act like your not responsible for anything that happens anyone!"

"You monster..." Shiho growled.

"You monster..." Mishima growled.

A ringing sound came into their heads. They saw two shadowy figures as time became slow. There were Shadows of... themselves!

 ** _"Well, it would seem you've reached a predicament."_** Shadow Shiho said.

 ** _"You got yourselves into a terrible situation here..."_** Shadow Mishima said.

"That voice..." Shiho said. "It was you? You told me to jump off the roof? Why? Why did you make me do that?"

 ** _"I didn't make you do that. You made that choice yourself."_** Shadow Shiho said. **_"I am you. You are me. That is undeniable fact whether you wish to accept that or not. I am the Shadow, the true self in your heart. The part of you who is just too desperate to care about anyone but yourself."_**

"N-No... I... you..."

 ** _"Didn't I just say it is an undeniable truth?"_** Shadow Shiho said. **_"You wanted the easy way out because you lacked the strength to do anything by yourself. You didn't want to burden anyone with your existence. You wouldn't care less if you died, knowing there are worse people in the world."_**

"No... that's... I..." Shiho stuttered.

She looked to Nikki.

 ** _"And now look at what you have wrought. The boy who risked his life for you? Dead. Ann? An easy target for Kamoshida. Everyone else? Well, you won't matter to them if you die."_** Shadow Shiho said.

 _'Is... Is this who I am? A... a coward?'_ Shiho thought. _'I was such an idiot... Ann... I'm sorry...'_

 ** _"You were always soft. A weakling. A nobody. A zero."_** Shadow Mishima said. **_"Now look at you, trying to be the hero while the real one is just lying dead."_**

"N-No! That's not who I am! I—!"

 ** _"Don't bother denying it. I am you and you are me. We know everything about each other."_** Shadow Mishima said. **_"You thought joining the volleyball team would make you feel like your worth something, so you try to act all tough when in reality, you were just Kamoshida's punching bag."_**

"I... I..." Mishima said. "God... I didn't want any of this... why did it have to be us?"

 ** _"Don't you know the answer already or do I have to spell it out for you?"_** Shadow Mishima said irritatedly. **_"You watched him die and you didn't even budge. This was your fault. He wouldn't have died if you didn't do something."_**

 _'Morikawa... I'm... I'm sorry... Sakomoto-san... I should have told you from the start...'_ Mishima thought. _'I... I really am a zero, aren't I?'_

* * *

 ** _"I am the Shadow. The true self. The one you wished to deny but accepted in the end."_** His Shadow said, stepping forward, revealing himself. **_"You didn't want to believe that you didn't have anyone to be with. You didn't want to believe you had no friends. But once we met, you understood that after facing yourself."_**

Nikki felt the Shadow's words echoing into his soul.

**_"Remember... Remember when you were attacked by that Shadow..."_ **

_'Yes... that night... it changed me...'_

The image of the Shadow attacking him... he remembered. He woke in the dead of night as a small child to see his parents turned into coffins. He went outside to see multiple coffins and a Shadow was clawing at one of them. The Shadow turned and rushed at him before a mechanical doll like being swung a harp down on. He heard the doll roaring from a speaker and not its mouth.

Then everything went back to normal and he was looking around before he decided to run home that day, scared by what he had just witnessed.

 _'I would always think about that doll... what was it? Why was I in awe of it?'_ Nikki thought.

 ** _"Because that was when you had seen death coming for you and you instinctively accepted the inevitability of death and the knowledge of mortality."_** Shadow Nikki said. **_"Now think when we first met. When you rejected me."_**

_"NO! YOU'RE NOT ME!"_

An image of a monstrous version of him came. The beast was about to rip him apart until some black coat wearing samurai man appeared and stabbed it and zapped it with lightning. Then it turned back into his Shadow. The samurai turned to him.

_"You must accept the truth. It is the only way."_

_"You... are me... and I... am you... were the same..."_

_'Yes... I was afraid of being alone. I didn't want to admit that, but then I did admit it to myself...'_

**_"You have accepted death, you accepted the truth, but do you have the will to rebel and protect that which is important?"_** Shadow Nikki asked.

_'But how can I protect them? I...'_

_"You have already awakened that power within you, and now, after its long slumber, it shall rise again."_ A familiar voice said. _"Persona..."_

_'Persona? I've already awakened it?'_

**_"That is right."_** Shadow Nikki said. **_"When you accept me. I merged with you and became the facade to deal with life's hardships. Now let us make a contract. If we do this, your friends will be saved."_**

 _'My... friends... Suzui... Mishima... that girl...'_ Nikki thought. _'I... I want to save them... help me protect them... please..."_

**_"Very well then. Let us make the contract."_ **

* * *

Nikki began to scream in pain and hold his head as his eyes turned yellow. Shadow Kamoshida began to back away. He began to sweat profusely.

"What are you doing?! Kill him! Kill him!"

The Shadows were all confused. They were trying to make as much sense as they could out of all this.

Mishima and Shiho were confused. Even Sophia was confused.

"What... is happening?" Shiho asked.

 ** _"What are you waiting for? Don't you wish to rise up against the man who tried to force himself upon you?"_** Her Shadow beckoned. **_"Don't you feel any desire to make him pay for what he tried to mold you into? Do you wish to defy him?"_**

She looked at Kamoshida and bore a face of unbridled rage.

 _'Yes.'_ Shiho thought. _'He tried to steal away my dreams so he could turn me into some depraved sex doll. I will never forgive him for that!'_

**_"And so you now understand."_ **

She heard a ringing sound accompanied by a splitting headache that made her cry out in pain. She held her head and began to toss and turn herself. Her eyes turned golden as well.

Mishima watched as the two writhed on the floor.

"What is... going on?" Mishima asked himself.

 ** _"Come on now, don't you want to be the hero you wanted to be? There's no shame in wanting what you want, now is there?"_** His Shadow said. **_"Aren't you finally tired of being some loser?"_**

Mishima looked at Kamoshida with a growing will of defiance.

 _'You know what? I'm just tired at looking at that stupid jaw of his.'_ Mishima thought. _'I want to break that damn jaw of his!'_

**_"Perfect."_ **

He felt a splitting headache and got on his knees as he cried out in pain. His eyes turned golden as well.

 ** _"You have seen death and accepted it. You saw through the lies and found the truth. Now it is the time for you to take what belongs to you."_** Nikki's Shadow said.

 ** _"You've been held down by fear and oppression by obscene men who think of women as tools and outlets for their twisted desires. You who were once on edge of defeat and surrender now seeks to raise the banner and sound the drums of war!"_** Shiho's Shadow said.

 ** _"For so long, you've been nothing but some prop to people, but now this is your stage. This is your time to shine brighter than those who played themselves as heroes when they were nothing but charlatans."_** Mishima's Shadow said.

 ** _"The other you within thyself seeks this, so let us make our vows."_** The Shadows spoke to them. **_"I am thou. Thou art I..."_**

**_"Thou seeks to fly with the winds beneath their arms and soar to the skies above. Thou renounces the chains that held them to the ground and seeks to ascertain all on thy own."_ **

**_"You seeks to grasp victory on your terms and you seek to be free from the chains of oppression! The time for vengeance is nigh!"_ **

**_"It is time to take to the stage. It is time to become a main attraction. The star actor on the stage. And now the time has come to pass!"_ **

**_"Though thou be chained to hell itself!"_** The three Shadows said at once.

A shockwave throws the Shadows back away from the group. Shiho had a mask appear over her face as did Mishima. Nikki pulled the lance out of his chest. Their migraines stopped as they all began to stand. Shiho and Mishima looked at each other and noticed that they were wearing masks. Shiho's mask was a steel mask with a single blue feather while Mishima's mask had two small horizontal eye holes on each side. Both masks were covering their noses and upper face. They looked to Nikki, who was standing up.

He didn't have a mask on.

Shiho remembered that Nikki was bleeding and went to touch his shoulder.

"It's alright. I can stand on my own." Nikki said.

"Nikki..."

He reached out his hand and a card appeared over it. An aura of blue surrounded him. Chains appeared around his legs and arms.

 ** _"Call forth the power that lies within."_** His Shadow said. **_"Call out to it and say it's name!"_**

He gripped the card which began to burn a bright flame. Small embers appeared over his face. He looked at the card as his grip on it tightened.

A picture showed up on the card. It was that of a man carrying a bag with a dog at his heels.

He smiled.

 _'Yes... I remember now...'_ Nikki thought.

 _"_ _Even so, all humans hide their faces, their 'other selves' by wearing a mask_ _..."_

 _"_ _It is the reflection of one's heart and a facade that is the armor of our hearts, the 'masks' we all wear_ _..."_

 _"_ _God or demon, mortal or immortal, we all have multiple selves within our souls_ _."_

 _"..._ _the facade to deal with life's hardships in the future_ _."_

 _"..._ _a mask we call a_ _..."_

"Persona..."

He crushed the card completely. The flames covered his face completely. A mask formed in the flames. His whole body was being swept up in flames. He grabbed his mask and tore it off with a mighty roar.

Even as blood came off his face, a pillar of flame consumed him. The chains went haywire and flailed as a small humanoid figure began to form from both the flames and the ashes. The humanoid being had a face mask over its lower face. It's large yellow eyes gleamed. It had a short hat; a shirt with a small cape. It had a dagger in hand and it was floating.  
Sophia could only look in awe.

"What is that thing?" Mishima asked.

"I... I don't know." Shiho said.

"Persona..." Sophia said.

The other two looked at Sophia as she stood up.

"Persona?" Mishima and Shiho asked.

"The facade to deal with life's hardships..." Sophia said. "The manifestations of their hearts."


	3. The Strength and the Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikki, along with Shiho and Mishima, awaken their Personas and escape the Palace, only to find out that Ren, Ann, Ryuji, and a mysterious cat-like entity, have the same powers as them while also finding out way to destroying the Palace, but Nikki has second thoughts.

_"Thou art I and I am thou."_ A childish voice spoke to him. _"From the sea of souls I cometh, I am the Never-ending Trickster, Peter Pan."_

 _'So this is myself... me...'_ Nikki thought. _'This is my Persona!'_

_"Congratulations... you have done it."_

He saw a blue butterfly flying over him.

 _"You have unlocked the power in your heart once again."_ A familiar voice said to him. _"Now demonstrate the power of your heart and fight for your friends!"_

The butterfly disappeared. Nikki turned to Shiho and Mishima.

"Guys! Take off your masks!" Nikki said.

"WHAT?! I just saw blood coming out of your face and didn't it look like it hurt?!" Mishima asked.

"Our masks?" Shiho asked.

"Just do it!" Nikki said. "Call out your Personas while you do it!"

"Damnit all to hell!" Shadow Kamoshida cursed. "Kill them all!"

He turned around to see a monster coming at him.

"Peter Pan!"

His Persona responded to him and slashed the monster in half.

 _'In one cut...'_ Nikki thought. _'Incredible!'_

More Shadows began to pour back in.

He stood his ground and pulled out a dagger. He noticed the dagger and noticed how his clothes had changed. Instead of his uniform, it was puffy shirt; some blue pants pants and shoes with green gloves on his hand. He even had a small cape.

"My clothes..." Nikki said. "And this dagger..."

"Kill them!" One of the Shadows said.

"AGH! Alright fine! We'll take them off, but if my face looks ugly, I am going to hurt you!" Mishima said.

"It's not like we have a choice!" Shiho said.

The two grabbed their masks. They began to pull, feeling pain as they attempted to do so.

"Shit! It hurts!" Mishima said.

"Gah... it... hurts..." Shiho said.

"Don't stop now! Just go for it!" Nikki said.

"Hnngh... Grrrr..."

"Ah.... Gah..."

Blood began to drop from their faces as they began to force their masks off.

"PERSONA!" Mishima and Shiho yelled as they tore their masks off and roared.

Pillars of flame emerged and the Shadows were being burnt away by the pillars. Some were tossed by the force of the explosions.

Forming over Mishima was some sort of human mechanoid with an entirely digital face and some high tech keyboards over its arms. Forming over Shiho was some tall woman with broad shoulders holding a spear and shield, wearing a battle helmet. The woman was covered in armor with a mantle cape and a fur collar.

Mishima's clothes had changed and so did Shiho's.

Mishima had a magician's outfit with some technology bits on parts of the suit. He wore orange colored gloves. In his hand was a cane.

_A/N: I don't remember who made this, but I will say I do not own this. My art skills suck in comparison to this. ~~YOU HEAR THAT MADARAME?!~~_

Shiho wore what looked like a female knight's battle armor. She had a floaty shirt with a corset and a metal half plate attached to it. She wore sky blue gloves. She had a combat skirt made of leather with steel white boots on her feet with a pair of knee pads. Her costume was colored white, black, grey, and light blue. In her hand was a spear.

The two felt energy and power coursing through their bodies.

"Holy shit... is... is this what it feels like?" Mishima asked.

"This warm feeling... it's so comforting, yet intense as well..." Shiho said.

"So this is what it's like to have a Persona!" Mishima said. "Alright Houdini, let's take the stage and rock and roll!"

"Boudica... it's time we put this tyrannical king's rule to ice!" Shiho said. "I hope you're ready to bow, Kamoshida because I'm going to make you pay for what you did to the team, the girls in our school, to me, Mishima, Sakamoto, Ann, and to Nikki too!"

"Y-You damn hyenas!" Shadow Kamoshida said in act to hide his cowardice. "Kill them all!"

Boudica hurled a chunk of ice at one Shadow. The ice struck the Shadow and caused it to freeze.

"Whoa... I... I froze it?" Shiho asked.

_"Finish it off."_

"H-Huh? Boudica?" Shiho asked.

It hit her and she began to understand what Boudica meant. She smiled and thrusted her spear into the frozen enemy. The enemy shattered into pieces.

"Wow! I—! I did it!" Shiho said.

"Time for you Shadows to burn!" Mishima said.

Houdini hurled balls of flames from its hands. The flames hit the Shadows, lighting them on fire while incinerating some of them.

"Yeah, that's it, feel the burn!" Mishima said.

"Mishima... Shiho... you two are amazing!" Nikki said.

"No shit man!" Mishima said. "These guys are nothing!"

"Let's go, you two!" Shiho said.

"No, let us escape while we have the chance." Sophia said.

"N-No?!" Mishima said. "But it was getting good!"

"Yeah, we—oh!"

"Huh? What is it?" Mishima asked.

"We have school today! We have to go now!"

"Huh?! But what about—"

"We'll deal with him later! Let's just go!" Shiho said.

"Fine! We'll go!" Mishima said.

"Follow me." Sophia said.

They followed Sophia through the grate and began to make their run for it. They kept running until they ran through a portal of some kind.

The second they ran through it, everything looked normal. They turned around and...

The school was back to normal as well. There were some students looking at them as they went through the entrance.

"Holy shit! We made it out with our lives!" Mishima said.

"Yeah... we made it..." Shiho said. "Hey, where's Sophia?"

Nikki's phone vibrated. He pulled it out and he saw Sophia's face on it.

"S-Sophia!" Nikki said. "You really are on my phone!"

"I am a digital life form. Of course I must live inside a terminal in order to continue my existence in the real world." Sophia said. "Now, I believe classes will begin in a few minutes, so I believe you should—"

"We get it!" Mishima said. "Come on, let's go already!"

The trio ran towards the school and made it through the entrance.

"Alright, now let's... lets... let's..."

Mishima started to look pale and collapsed onto the floor.

"M-Mishima?!" Shiho asked. "Are you..."

She collapsed as well.

"H-Hey—!"

He felt a sting in his heart and he too was feeling drained. He collapsed onto the floor and blacked out.

* * *

**_Morning_ **

**_Nurse's Office_ **

Ren, Ryuji, and Ann were in the nurse's office to find Shiho, Mishima, and that new kid unconscious. Supposedly, they heard about them collapsing to the floor and were taken to the nurse for an immediate medical examination. So far, it would seem that the three passed out due to fatigue.

"I don't get it... why did they just collapse?" Ren asked. "And now that I think about it, I didn't see Mishima at all when I made it to class."

"Yeah, me neither." Ryuji said. "I didn't even see the new kid either on the way to school."

"And I haven't seen Shiho ever since..."

She bit her lip upon recalling the events from yesterday.

"We know." Ren said. "Even so, when they did show up at school, they just collapsed."

"Yeah... that kinda seems off." Ryuji said.

"Hm..." Ann said. "Shiho..."

"A...Ann?"

Shiho began to stir. She yawned as she opened her eyes and sat up. She stretched her arms out.

"Shiho! You're awake!" Ann said. "What happened?! Where were you?! I—"

"Jeez Ann, chill out..." Shiho said in a rather tired tone. "You're acting like I was kidnapped or something..."

"Well excuse me, then! After what you almost did yesterday, I have **every** reason to be like this!" Ann said. "I mean—!"

"Ann..." Shiho said tiredly. "I'm fine... honestly."

"Uh, no you're not! You collapsed and I'm worried about you!" Ann said.

"Well... I'm worried about you too... dummy." Shiho said. "I mean, I saw you stalking a few boys by the entrance when I came looking for you know..."

"Wha—?! You saw that?!" Ann asked.

"I didn't think it would matter much..." Shiho said.

"Here." Ryuji said, lending Ann a Mad Bull.

"Thanks." Ann said.

She had Shiho drink the Mad Bull. Shiho felt energized and got off the bed. She stretched her arms and legs out.

"Ah~that hit the spot..." Shiho said. "So, how's your modeling hobby going?"

"S-Shiho?" Ann asked.

"I hope it's going well." Shiho said. "I'm sure the boys wouldn't mind having a magazine with you on the cover."

"S-Shiho? What's gotten into you?" Ann asked.

"What's gotten into me?" Shiho asked. "Well... I have a confession to make."

The room was silent. Ann's face turned red.

"Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa! Shiho, hold on a minute! I know we were friends and all, but I don't think—"

"I wasn't thinking clearly when I tried to kill myself." Shiho said.

The boys and Ann looked at Shiho with confusion.

"You weren't thinking clearly?" Ann asked.

Shiho looked a bit remorseful.

"Yes." Shiho said. "To be honest, I was just so desperate, trying to get away from it all that I had neglected you and Sakamoto-san. I... I never wanted to die, but the 'other' me... she... she wanted me to..."

"Shiho..." Ann said. "Wait, the 'other' you?"

"Yeah... I didn't know at the time, but I heard her voice telling me to jump off the roof." Shiho said. "But now I realize that the voice was a different me. A me who found life too difficult and wanted to run away... I forgot about you, the team, and my dream to become a professional volleyball player and to become the best volleyball player in the world."

"Shiho..." Ann said. "You..."

Shiho gave Ann a determined look.

"And so, I will keep pressing forward! No matter what Kamoshida tries to do with me, as long as I have you and people I can count on, supporting me no matter what, I won't let him turn me into some sexual outlet!" Shiho said. "No matter what gets in my way, I won't back down and I won't give up!"

"Shiho... you..." Ann said as tears were flowing out of her eyes.

"That's right!" Shiho said triumphantly with a smile. "I have been reborn as Shiho the Queen of Volleyball!"

"PERSONA!"

Everyone turned to see the new kid up with his hand reaching out, panting.

"Nikki-kun! You're up!" Shiho said.

"Nikki?" Ann asked.

Shiho turned to Ann, pouting and puffing her cheeks as she did.

"He saved me, remember?" Shiho asked.

"W-Wait, that's him?!" Ann said. "You're boyfriend?!"

"B-Boyfriend?!" Shiho said. "A-Ann! He and I aren't—I mean—that is to say—!"

Mishima soon got up, stretching his arms and legs.

"God... I need some fizz right now..." Mishima said.

"Here." Ryuji said, passing a Mad Bull to Mishima.

"Hoo! Man I needed that." Mishima said, feeling re-energized. "Thanks—oh... it's just you Sakamoto."

"Hey!" Ryuji said, feeling offended.

"Are you alright?" Ren asked.

"Yeah... I'm fine—Amamiya-san?!" Mishima asked. "What are you doing here?!"

"We're here to find out where the hell you've been and why you collapsed!" Ryuji said.

Mishima began to sweat.

"Oh... uh... that?" Mishima asked. "That's a bit of a funny story because uh... I don't know exactly what happened..."

Mishima was acting suspicious. He wasn't telling everyone everything.

"Look, we're worried about you." Ren said. "We thought you got kidnapped."

"Me? Kidnapped? No! That didn't happen at all! Honestly!" Mishima said. "I mean, me, Shiho and Nikki got kinda lost and uh... that's all I remember..."

"Ok, he's not telling us everything."

"Hey! It's not like—!"

Mishima stopped.

"Wait a minute... did I hear someone in that bag just now?" Mishima asked.

"Y-You're imagining things!" Ann said. "I mean, a person in a bag, that sounds—"

Nikki got up and swiftly took the bag and pulled the zipper to find...

"A black cat?" Nikki asked.

"A CAT?!" Shiho said.

She ran to Nikki, pushing Ryuji out of the way. She reached in and pulled out Morgana from Ren's bag. She then began to cradle it with starry eyes.

"Aw... it's so cute!" Shiho said. "It looks even cuter when it pouts!"

"Wait, you had a cat in your bag?" Mishima asked.

"I can explain." Ren said.

Mishima smiled mischievously.

"You're a cat lover, aren't you?" Mishima asked. "I didn't know you liked having a cat as a pet..."

"Look, it was a stray cat. I couldn't leave it alone." Ren said.

"Ah...Ah... Ah!"

"Huh? Nikki, what's—"

She noticed that Nikki's face was scrunched up and his nose was sniffing a lot.

"ACHOOOO!"

Nikki sneezed all over Morgana.

"Nikki!"

"I'm sorry! I'm allergic to cats!" Nikki said. "They make me sneeze!"

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT!"

"Morgana no!" Ann, Ryuji and Ren yelled.

"Wait, you named it Morgana?" Shiho asked.

The cat leapt onto Nikki's face and began to scratch his face. He grabbed the cat instantly and tried to yank it off.

"No! Bad Mona! Bad!" Ann said as she yanked the cat off him.

"But Lady Ann, he sneezed on me!"

"I said I was allergic to cats!" Nikki said.

"And I am **not** a cat! I am Morgana and I am a **human**!"

"I'm sorry!" Nikki said, with a bow. "I can't help it! I'm allergic to cats and—Wait, human?"

"Am I going insane?" Mishima asked.

"Nope." Ryuji said. "I've been asking myself that and let's just say that I've been microwaving my own head for the past few days ever since the first day of school..."

"Wait... you can hear my voice?" Morgana asked.

"Well, I'm not deaf." Mishima said.

"I can hear you." Shiho said.

"Me too. Why's that?" Nikki asked.

Morgana began to look at Nikki with wonder.

"Then... then you've been to the Metaverse..."

"HUH?!" Ann and Shiho exclaimed.

The two girls looked at each other.

"Wait, how do you know that?" Nikki asked.

"Because any other human would think I'm just meowing." Morgana said. "But to anyone who's been to the Metaverse, it really does sound like I'm actually talking."

"Shiho... you've been to the Metaverse... but... how?" Ann asked.

"Funny thing about that... Mishima sorta accidentally triggered a mysterious app we found on Nikki's phone..." Shiho said.

"Yup. That's true." Mishima said. "And let's just say I'm surprised not a single person knows about this other world besides us..."

"I know that feeling too man." Ryuji said. "Same thing happened to me and Ren. All I did was complain at how Kamoshida thinks he's the 'King of Shujin' and how he sees the school as his—"

"Don't finish that sentence." Ren said. "The last thing we need is another surprise visit to the Palace."

"O-Oh, right..." Ryuji said.

"Huh... that explains a few things..." Mishima said. "And since you've been there... does that mean you guys also have... Personas?"

Ren looked at Mishima.

"How would you know that?" Ren asked.

"Because... we saw Nikki bring his out after he uh... got stabbed in the chest by a Shadow trying to protect us..." Mishima said.

Ann gasped. Ryuji and Ren looked at Nikki.

"Damn... for real?" Ryuji asked.

"It's... Its true..." Shiho said. "I... I was so scared that he was going to die and... and... I wasn't sure what to do. There was... so much blood coming out of him..."

"I honestly thought he was a goner for real that time." Mishima said. "Especially when I caught his leg, only for me to lose my grip as he was falling."

"Actually, I think I've had it for a while, I just... never used it." Nikki said. "I was in Inaba at the time of the serial killings and... one night, I was in this world of fog where I found my Shadow. I tried to deny what it was saying, but that's when it went berserk and tried to kill me..."

Ann, Ryuji, Ren, and Morgana were taken aback by this.

"Your own Shadow tried to kill you?" Ryuji asked. "That's effed up man..."

"To be killed by your own Shadow... that would be frightening..." Ann said. "I don't even want to think about what would happen after your own Shadow kills you..."

"So, guess you know what happens when you try to reject your other self." Morgana said.

"Then this... black samurai, that I think was a Persona, came to save me." Nikki said. "I accepted my Shadow and it became a Persona. One I never used up until now when it had lied dormant."

"Wow..." Ren said. "I had no idea that a Persona could even go into a state of dormancy."

"In any case, we gained our own Persona abilities and just got the heck out of there." Mishima said. "But thankfully, the trip wasn't all too bad outside from Nikki almost dying of course because I think we could just destroy the Palace."

"Wait, you figured out how to change people's hearts already?!" Ryuji said.

"RYUJI!" Morgana and Ann snap at Ryuji.

"And it was all thanks to... wait, what does that mean?" Mishima asked. "Changing a person's heart... what exactly are we talking about here."

"Well, it's like you said." Morgana said. "We can destroy a Palace by taking its Treasure."

Shiho became confused.

"What does treasure have to do with Palaces?" Shiho asked. "Isn't there a core that we can just pull it out from?"

"I think that's what Mona just said just now." Ann said.

"Wait, really?"

"And once we steal his Treasure, he'll stop being such a pain in the ass and he'll feel so bad about what he did, he'll end up spilling the beans on what he did!" Ryuji said.

"Woah... hold on a sec." Mishima said. "Assuming he'll feel bad for what he did and assuming he does confess, how do we know his guilt won't... you know... uh... lead to more than just him confessing?"

"Huh?" Ryuji asked.

"Don't get me wrong, I would definitely want to expose him after what I had just seen in there and all, but there are risks involved here." Mishima said. "Like... like the possibility that he actually might want to commit suicide?"

"Wha—?! Are you saying that bastard will try to take the easy way out?!" Ryuji asked.

"Not only that, but if he actually pulls it off, that's going to blood on our hands..." Mishima said. "It'd been like... committing murder..."

"God Mishima, and I just decided to go through with the whole thing!" Ryuji said, now looking frustrated. "First there's the possibility that he'll kick the bucket before he confesses and now there's this!"

"HUH?!" Shiho asked. "You mean he could actually die if we do this?!"

"We don't know that yet." Ren said.

"But we still have to try!" Ann said. "After everything he did—!"

"Oh yeah, sure, let's just make him want to die because clearly he's the reason Shiho tried to kill herself. That just sounds perfectly justifiable..." Mishima said. "... that is if you're ok with actual manslaughter."

"Um... hello?"

Everyone turned to the phones that were just sitting there by the empty desk.

"Oh, our phones." Mishima said. "And I forget to mention that there's one other person we forgot to introduce you guys to."

Mishima took his phone off the desk as Shiho came up to it and took her phone from it. Nikki took his phone and showed it to everyone.

"This is Sophia." Mishima said. "We met her in the Metaverse when we first came in here."

"Who are they?" Sophia asked.

"Oh, just friends of ours." Shiho said. "There's Ryuji, Ann, and... uh... wait what was your name again?"

"Ren Amamiya." Ren said.

"Oh..." Sophia said. "Hello, I am Sophia humanity's best friend."

Ren, Ryuji and Ann looked a bit skeptical while Morgana shook off the snot.

"Oh, is that a feline?" Sophia asked.

"I am not a cat."

"And it talks?"

"I CAN TALK!"

"Ok everyone, I think that's enough." Mishima said. "We'll uh... try to sort this whole changing hearts thing ourselves..."

"But don't we have classes?" Shiho asked.

"OH SHIT, YOU'RE RIGHT!"

* * *

**_After School_ **

**_School Rooftop_ **

The three had set up a place to meet on the roof. They took some chairs and tables and something for Nikki's phone to stand on.

"So, that is the situation we are faced with." Sophia said.

"Yup, and we have up until May 2nd or it's all over." Mishima said. "Once we get expelled, there's nothing we can do for Shiho..."

Shiho looked ashamed at that fact.

"And all of this happened because of me..."

"Oi, don't beat yourself over about it..." Mishima said. "In any case, we might as well go for it..."

"Mishima..." Nikki said.

"Whether we wanted it or not, we have to do it." Mishima said. "We either get expelled or we steal his heart."

"Count me in too." Shiho said. "I can't let this sort of thing go on and I have to make it up to you two for getting you both into this yesterday."

"I might be willing to help." Sophia said. "How else am I to study human interaction?"

"Ok, that sounds unsettling..."

Shiho turned to Nikki.

"Well Nikki, how about you?"

"I..." Nikki paused. "I... can't decide..."

"Huh?!" Mishima asked.

"I... I need more time to think." Nikki said.

"Nikki..." Shiho said.

"Wait! We forgot to exchange phone numbers and chat IDs!" Mishima said. "Got to stay in contact with each other and all that."

"Oh yeah..."

Nikki began to exchange numbers with Mishima and Shiho.

_I am thou. Thou art I..._   
_Thou hast acquired a new vow..._   
_It shall become the wings of rebellion_   
_That breaketh thy chains of captivity._   
_With the birth of Moon Persona_   
_I have obtained the winds of blessing that_   
_shall lead to freedom and new power..._

**MOON Rank 1**

_I am thou. Thou art I..._   
_Thou hast acquired a new vow..._   
_It shall become the wings of rebellion_   
_That breaketh thy chains of captivity._   
_With the birth of Strength Persona_   
_I have obtained the winds of blessing that_   
_shall lead to freedom and new power..._

**STRENGTH Rank 1**

_'What was that?'_ Nikki thought.

It was at that moment, Ren came up as well.

"Amamiya-san?" Mishima asked.

"Ren-kun..."

"I forgot to exchange numbers with you." Ren said. "Nikki, was it?"

"Y-Yeah."

He got up close to him and exchanged numbers with Akira.

"There." Ren said. "So have you..."

"I... can't decide yet." Nikki said. "Later."

He went past Ren and began to leave school.

**_Evening_ **

Nikki was on his way home after everything happened. He wasn't sure about any of this and... and...

Why did he get the feeling that he was being followed? He looked at his watch. Thankfully, it wasn't midnight. Now that he thought about it, he looked up at the moon.

"I wonder how that doll is doing..."

"Eh?"

"W-Who's there?!"

"GAH!"

Shiho stood like a deer in the headlights.

"S-Shiho?!" Nikki asked.

Shiho began to twiddle with her fingers and tried her best to seem innocent.

Of course Nikki wasn't going to buy it.

"Oh... ehe... oh dear... how am I going to explain this?" Shiho asked.


End file.
